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Applying Ethical Principles

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Applying Ethical Principles

Like other healthcare professionals, nurses face multiple ethical challenges and dilemmas due to the nature of their practice. These ethical dilemmas test their ability to apply ethical and moral thinking while making patient care decisions. This article presents an analysis of a case study and shows how healthcare professionals apply ethical principles in decision-making when faced with ethically complicated patient care scenarios: Applying Ethical Principles.

Case Study Summary

Dr. Leonard Harper, a geneticist, has consistently advocated for patient autonomy. He meets Mrs. Clara Bennett, a 38-year-old literature professor who is expecting her first child. She has concerns her child may develop genetic disorders stemming from family history and her age. As such, she undergoes a procedure to determine if her unborn child has any genetic disorders.

The results show the child is at a high risk of developing Down syndrome. Nonetheless, during a private consultation, Mrs. Bennett requests Dr. Harper not to inform her husband, Jack Bennett, about the results. She is concerned about Jack’s response to such information, noting he is highly expectant and his job as a naval officer is demanding.

Consequently, the doctor faces an ethical dilemma, as he has to respect Mrs. Bennett’s autonomy and right to decide on information-sharing and family dynamics in his decision-making. The doctor is concerned that keeping such information from Jack might affect the Bennett’s marriage and, most importantly, the medical decisions concerning the child in the future.

Analyzing Ethical Issues

The Ethical Decision-Making Model provides components that can be employed in analyzing the case involving Dr. Harper and the Bennetts. The components of the model include moral awareness, moral judgment, and ethical behavior (Johnson et al., 2021). From a moral awareness perspective, Dr. Harper is faced with and appreciates the reality of an ethical dilemma as he has to consider Clara’s autonomy and confidentiality by considering withholding the information on the unborn child’s status to Jack. He shows moral awareness by being concerned about the strain on Clara’s marriage and family and the risks of withholding the information from the husband.

The moral judgment component requires the care provider to choose between actions that may be right and wrong when faced with an ethical dilemma (Johnson et al., 2021). However, Dr. Harper does not display any moral judgment as he is still working on the best way to handle the scenario, which is creating unnecessary moral distress. Moral distress in professional practice occurs when the care provider is constrained from doing the ‘right thing’ to help their patients and has been associated with harmful outcomes (St Ledger et al., 2021). Meeting the component of moral judgment further complicates the case as the doctor has to balance between patient autonomy and the principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice.

Additionally, the component of ethical behavior will require Dr. Harper to take the right action to resolve the ethical dilemma arising from ensuring Clara’s autonomy, minimizing harm to the unborn baby, the mother, and the father, and ensuring that all decisions are made fairly. Besides, a majority of male partners are willing to be involved in supporting pregnancy care (Falade-Fatila & Adebayo, 2020). At the same time, evidence from end-of-life decisions shows that since related decisions majorly concern the patients and their families, it is important to protect the rights, dignity, and vigor of all parties involved in making the clinical decisions (Akdeniz et al., 2021).

Utilizing the above model to analyze the case shows that the ethical problem is due to Clara’s fears and concerns about Jack’s reaction to the state of their unborn child, his demanding work, and how such information, if shared with Jack, would affect their marriage. It also arises from the request by Clara not to disclose information about their child’s health to her husband and Dr. Harper’s concerns over the long-term moral and medical implications of withholding the information on the unborn child’s health from the father.

Effectiveness of Communication Approaches

Communication in this case study is notably effective. For instance, the communication and professional approaches employed by Dr. Harper include active listening and private consultation with Clara. These approaches align with the principles of patient autonomy and privacy and can help healthcare professionals to effectively put the patient at ease and create a conducive environment for them to be open in their communication. Both enable Clara to be more open about her personal concerns.

However, the communication and professional approaches would be ineffective in resolving the ethical problem identified if Dr. Harper chooses to withhold the information as Clara requested and fails to consider family dynamics when making medical decisions. Dr. Harper should consider open communication to help Clara understand the weight of the case if her husband is not informed.

Resolving Ethical Dilemma

Dr. Harper must take into consideration moral awareness and moral judgment to guide his professional and ethical behavior. Therefore, he should consider the case as guided by the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, justice, and nonmaleficence, which will guide him in considering Clara’s concerns and request and educating her on the need for shared decision-making.

Considering that prenatal genetic testing affects the unborn child, the parents, and the wider family (Horn et al., 2024), family-shared decision-making would be most appropriate. Therefore, Dr. Harper must educate Clara on the importance of involving Jack in decision-making as he is a critical part of the family. At the same time, the doctor must consider Clara’s fears and provide needed support to manage such fears.

Conclusion

The “Genetic Testing and Patient Autonomy” case study creates an example of how care providers face ethically complex and complicated scenarios and how the utilization of the ethical principle can further complicate the situation or provide a solution toward ethical decision-making in care settings. By considering the ethical principles, Dr. Harper can help overcome the ethical problem and provide care that improves the outcomes for both the unborn baby and the parents, as well as the family relationships.

References

Akdeniz, M., Yardımcı, B., & Kavukcu, E. (2021). Ethical considerations at the end-of-life care. SAGE Open Medicine, 9. https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121211000918

Falade-Fatila, O., & Adebayo, A. M. (2020). Male partners’ involvement in pregnancy related care among married men in Ibadan, Nigeria. Reproductive Health, 17(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/S12978-020-0850-2/TABLES/7

Horn, R., Hall, A., & Lucassen, A. (2024). Ethical considerations in prenatal genomic testing. Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology, 97, 102548. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.BPOBGYN.2024.102548

Johnson, M. K., Weeks, S. N., Peacock, G. G., & Domenech Rodríguez, M. M. (2021). Ethical decision-making models: A taxonomy of models and review of issues. Ethics and Behavior, 32(3), 195–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2021.1913593

St Ledger, U., Reid, J., Begley, A., Dodek, P., McAuley, D. F., Prior, L., & Blackwood, B. (2021). Moral distress in end-of-life decisions: A qualitative study of intensive care physicians. Journal of Critical Care, 62, 185–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCRC.2020.12.019

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Question

Develop a solution to a specific ethical dilemma faced by a health care professional by applying ethical principles. Describe the issues and a possible solution in a paper of 3-5 pages.

Introduction
Whether you are a nurse, a public health professional, a health care administrator, or in another role in the health care field, you must base your decisions on a set of ethical principles and values. Your decisions must be fair, equitable, and defensible. Each discipline has established a professional code of ethics to guide ethical behavior.

In this assessment, you will practice working through an ethical dilemma as described in a case study. Your practice will help you develop a method for formulating ethical decisions.

Instructions
Note: The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. At a minimum, be sure to address each point. In addition, you are encouraged to review the performance-level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.

For this assessment, develop a solution to a specific ethical dilemma faced by a health care professional. In your assessment:

Example Assessment: You may use the following to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like:

Additional Requirements
Your assessment should also meet the following requirements:

Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

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